Humanaquarium: Two musicians, one large box

You're looking at something very odd indeed: two musicians in a box called the Humanaquarium -- a box that lets you mix the live music being created inside it, simply by touching its glass front.

The Humanaquarium is the work of Robyn Taylor and Guy Schofield -- two innovative, classically trained musicians whose interpretation of "thinking outside the box" literally involved climbing into one, and using it as a stage.

I got to hear them perform during this year's Maker Faire in Newcastle. As Guy played a delicate rhythm on his electronic mandolin, Robyn harmonised with sweet, sustained, wordless vocals. Beneath this rumbled a very Muse-like backing track, which blended deep, synthensised bass lines and atonal sound effects. The result was a compelling, if slightly sinister-sounding piece of psychedelic ambience that would have Richard D. James of Aphex Twin raising an eyebrow. Probably even his own.

But there was another crucial element: the audience. Around the inside edges of the large glass panel at the front of their box was an array of infrared sensors. Combined with a modified camera, the position of objects (read: human hands) in front of the box could be detected. And it was the position of said objects that affected how the live audio was mixed -- the lower the hand on the glass, for example, the more prominent the bass lines became.

The idea for Humanaquarium came from Robyn, who told me it was meant to be "a participatory type of art." It's intended to be placed in public spaces, and be discovered, heard and interacted with by passersby. And it certainly garnered a great deal of attention during Maker Faire, successfully drowning out the deafening hum of the giant musical Tesla coils a little further down the hall.

We've embedded one of their videos below, but for more information you can check out their website, or catch them perform at WIF 2010 in Limodes, France on 3 -- 5 June, or later in the month on 25 June at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada.